The newcomer
by Dinkley
Summary: Downton has a new Head Housemaid. Her arrival will change everyone's lives and hers too.


_This story came to me suddenly last night. The main plot is Anna arriving to Downton instead of Bates. He is already working there together with the rest of the staff and Ethel._

_The plot is not defined yet, so who knows what will happen? We'll see ;). Hope you enjoy it and as usual, sorry if you find any grammatical or spelling mistake and reviews and comments always welcome and appreciated. _

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 – The newcomer<strong>

Ethel wasn't in the mood that day. In fact, she was furious. Everyone was aware of that and tried to avoid her as much as possible; especially, the rest of maids.

She had wished that day never came, that it had been a dreadful dream. But each passing day, her conversation with Mrs Hughes 5 days ago became more and more real.

_- This is simply unacceptable – Mrs Hughes'__s tone wasn't harsh anymore. Having already had this conversation for several times, she sounded almost defeated. She sat in a nearby chair and looked at the girl in front of her._

_Once again, she had failed to understand the importance of her position in the house. The girl crossed her arms and gave the woman a brief defiant stare._

_- But nothing happened Mrs. Hughes. Everything is fine –_

_The Housekeeper sighed trying not to lose her temper – It has nothing to do with that, Ethel. You're Housemaid here; a job with certain benefits but with lots of responsibilities. You can't leave the house whenever you feel like it without telling anyone –_

_- Gwen knew about it –_

_- That's another issue I'd like to talk to you about. What were you thinking when you burdened her with your duties? -_

_- She knows perfectly well how it's done. She has seen me doing it hundreds of times . If she's unable to do it, then you should… -_

_- Don't go that way, Ethel Parks! – Mrs Hughes warned her furiously almost jumping from her seat and pointing her with her finger – Don't ever think of blaming Gwen for your irresponsibility! The poor thing has done enough trying to hide your outings! –_

_She was about to talk back __at her, but she knew that getting her angry was the worst thing she could ever do, so she lowered her head in silence._

_- We can't carry on with this anymore, Ethel. If we want this house to run perfectly, we all must to do our jobs. That's our obligation towards our employers and to the rest of the staff. That's another thing you seem to have forgotten lately –_

_Ethel lifted her head not knowing what she was talking about – I don't understand –_

_- I know very well how you treat the rest of maids and Daisy, and she is not under your jurisdiction –_

_The maid's face turned red with anger – Who told you that? Gwen? Lily? –_

_- You forget who I am, are you? As Housekeeper, I know everything under the roofs of Downton. Do you think I haven't realised that they are scared of you; that I haven't seen the way you treat them? You look down on them all the time –_

_She softened her tone a bit when the maid's temper cooled down – Several days ago, I found Gwen in the backyard trying to calm Lily who had suffered a nervous breakdown. Obviously she told me what happened. I knew it had something to do with you and I wasn't wrong –_

_- I decided to wait a few days to check if you changed after that. But after what you did today, I can't give you more chances Ethel. –_

_For the first time, fear was revealed on the maid's face._

_- Are you… are you going to fire me Mrs. Hughes? –_

_- I should. You have given me thousands of reasons to dismiss you. Luckily, I've known your parents for a long time, and because of them, you will keep your job –_

_She sighed with relief. If her mother found out that she had been fired, then she would be in serious trouble._

_- Oh! Thanks a lot Mrs Hughes. I swear I would never… -_

_- I haven't finished yet, Ethel – she cut her off sternly raising her hand – I'm not going to fire you, but you will be relegated from the position of Housemaid – _

_The news of her imminent degradation came as a complete shock to her__. She had been Head housemaid for three years at Downton Abbey, and she certainly enjoyed her position of power among the feminine staff. She didn't like to beg, but if she wanted to keep her job, she would have to do it – _

_- Please Mrs Hughes, I promise you it won't happen again. I'll stop going out, work harder and I'll treat the girls better –_

_Mrs Hughes' face showed that she wasn't going to give an inch. Ethel sneered – And who's going to replace me then? Gwen? Lily? –_

_- No. They are not ready for the post and neither do you – the woman pointed out noticing her sarcastic tone. – Mr Carson has spoken to His Lordship and a new girl is going to be hired –_

_- And I'm supposed to teach her how everything works? –_

_The housekeeper couldn't help a triumphant smile – That won't be necessary. She has the best references that a maid could wish for. She's been working at the same house for ten years, six of them as Housemaid and Ladyship's maid. Never had any complaint from her employers._

_- I see. And if she's that good, why did she left the job there? –_

_Considering their conversation concluded, Mrs Hughes opened the pantry's door – That's none of your business. If you ever become friends, you'll be able to ask her about it –_

Downstairs, there was an aura of excitement. That meant that the new maid had already arrived. When she entered in the common room, O'Brien looked at her mockingly. Clearly, she had been enjoying bothering her the last few days.

- How was your first day as Non-Head housemaid? –

She decided to ignore everyone by having her breakfast at the far end of the table. Although she tried to concentrate on the morning paper, she couldn't help but hearing everyone's whisperings.

- Have you seen her? How is she? Does she look nice? – Daisy's questions came out so fast that it was nearly impossible to answer them all.

- No one has seen her yet. It seems that she has arrived early and has been in the pantry with Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson – Gwen explained. The maid was very nervous for the new maid's arrival, but the fact that she couldn't be worse than Ethel was a relief.

- Don't worry Daisy, you'll meet her soon. Now go back to the kitchen before Mrs Patmore notices you're here –

The man who talked was Mr. John Bates, an extremely serious and quiet man but very kind and polite with the rest of the staff. Everyone respected him a great deal, not only because he was His Lordship's valet, but also because his past at war.

Everyone was eager to meet her and that only fuelled Ethel's anger. It was obvious that they already preferred a complete stranger rather than her. Soon she would know why.

- Attention everyone – Mr Carson deep voice boomed through the common room making everyone to turn to him quickly. – As you know, from this day on, we'll have a new member working with us – and stepping aside everyone saw the girl for the first time – Her name is Anna Smith –

Yes, that girl was going to be well liked. She was pretty, seemed nice and well-behaved and her face didn't show anything but pure kindness. With a broad smile she greeted the staff.

- Hello everyone. I'm very pleased to meet you and it's an honour to work here with all of you. –

Mrs Hughes stepped in – Anna would be Head Housemaid and that means all of you girls will be under her jurisdiction. She has plenty of experience so she knows what she's doing. I hope you help her in anything she needs – and turning to Anna added – Once again, welcome –

- Thank you Mrs Hughes -

From the end of the room, Ethel didn't take her eyes from her. So that was her replacement. She smiled at her too, but there was a hidden meaning in it. It didn't matter that everyone liked her already. Anna wouldn't last long at Downton.


End file.
